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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28507656">Genie in a Bottle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ablessedcurse/pseuds/Ablessedcurse'>Ablessedcurse</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bendy and the Ink Machine, Cuphead (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BABQFTIM - Freeform, Bendy gets a complete personality makeover, Boris probs won't be in here :(, Characters from cartoons, Comedy-(Romance????), Cuphead has the curly hairstyle from the stripper AU, Demon-Hunters, Disney References, Imma just keep the romance a surprise for now ;), Might be angst knowing me, More characters to be added, Other, Slow Burn, Theme is kinda 'One thousand and one nights' or 'Aladdin' if you will, This will be hella long, Yeah I'm just making this up as I go along, adventure story, but the meaning comes from Dove Cameron's version, has kind of a Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote dynamic, might add the Alice twins, the title is based off Christina Aguilera's song, there's no stripping don't worry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:47:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28507656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ablessedcurse/pseuds/Ablessedcurse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After having saved Inkwell Isle from the clutches of Satan himself, Cuphead and Mugman decide to use their powers for the greater good: hunting demons of course! But when an offer from a bigger organization sends them to a faraway place where the caravan camels roam, Cuphead meets his match in a form he could never have expected.  </p><p>They say a fool off his guard could fall and fall hard out there on the dunes, and Cuphead, being a fool, fell hard.</p><p>Based off of Bendy and Boris: the quest for the Ink Machine and the Stripper AU (more or less)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine) &amp; Cuphead (Cuphead), Cuphead &amp; Mugman (Cuphead)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> When life gives ya' lemons, ya' make lemonade.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When life gives ya' finger guns and crazy-cool powers, ya' use them to defeat the forces of demonic evil.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Never really got the first one, so I kinda' made up my own, kinda' like my version better. I think I got the concept spot on, right?...<em></em></em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Cuphead!... CUPHEAD!"</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Lemonade?" Cuphead awoke with the thought of the citrus drink in his horribly aching head.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"No time for lemonade, we can get some later!" his brother's voice was barely heard in some sort of noise as Cuphead felt his hand being clutched and himself being dragged while he was trying to find his head.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Looking up, he saw nothing but fire, fire and more fire plaguing something that was probably once a town.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"What the-... Oh man, we defeated Satan and <em>still<em> ended up in hell! Fu-..."</em></em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"We're not in hell yet, bro, but we will be if we don't do something about her!" Mugman interrupted, pointing up at what had once been a roof.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Cuphead followed his finger to where a huge, brown she-devil was standing and belching out flames. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"She knocked you unconcious. Fire and shadow demon hybrid," Mugman gave a swift briefing, "Let's attack from different sides, I'll go left, you go right. My right."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Cuphead nodded and jumped into action. All the while keeping his brother's steps in view, he balanced on debris and hopped his way onto the steep roof. The she-devil looked at both of them in turn, before making the decision to knock Mugman off with her whip-like tail. As Cuphead was about to shout out his brother's name the wind was shot out of his chest as the she-demon pinned him against a wall that composed a higher level of the building they were on.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>The dwindled distance between them gave Cuphead a chance to observe his foe. The she-demon had quite the number of inches on him. Her empty black sockets held a tiny living flame in them, alongside flames sitting on her straight horns and tail. She was now bearing her pearly and dangerously numerous teeth at him as he was panickly trying to figure out a way to not die. But it was no use, Mugman was the brain, he was the brawn and the looks and neither could come in handy at that moment. But just as she was getting ready to bite down on his china, she hesitated and stopped altogether, looking at him in a...something kind of way.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Hm, dammit, you're too cute to die," her deep voice almost whimpered.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Huh?" He guessed being the looks did come in handy after all?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"I'd feel bad ruining for your handsome face, hun'," her voice came in a brew of disappointment and teasing flirtaciousness, "Can't we just talk it out somewhere, sweetheart? Ooh, like maybe the café down the street-...Oh, wait I burned that down didn't I?"</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Cuphead was naturally confused. Not because he was being flirted with by his enemy, but because this was not in fact the first time. Yet, in his perplexity, he managed to make out his brother, who had managed to climb back onto the roof and was urging him on with a hand.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"So...uh, come here often?" he put on an awkward smile.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Oh yeah, if I didn't come here often, you wouldn't have been called on me, now would you?" She chuckled, practically sweetly.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"I guess..." the laugh he let out couldn't have been more nervous.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"The name's Umber, hun'. What about you?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em> "C-Cuphead."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"How...original." She herself put in effort to avoid any more awkwardness. After that she remained silent, as if expecting for him to make the next move.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"This is-...was! A nice town...uh...The weather's real nice, very warm and hot..." he struggled.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Despite his lack of preparation, she let out a deep giggle, yet in her laughter and infatuation she failed to realize the heavy wooden plank that was brought down on her head by the younger sibling.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Damn, What they say really is true. Girls don't want smarts in a man," Mugman sighed, leaning on his plank.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"You sure she wasn't a succubus?" Cuphead questioned, still lightly shaken up.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Nope. Definitely not. We haven't encountered one of those yet thankfully.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>Mugman began tying up the unconcious demon with their special demon-hunter rope, while Cuphead watched, trying to process what just ocurred instead of helping.</p><p>"She's the authorities' problem now," Mugman said as he secured her physique.</p>
<h1>***</h1><h1></h1><p>Apparently Miss Umber had only burnt down a small part of the town while the rest was perfectly in tact, and in said in-tact quarters of the town was held a great party to honour the great heroes, whose slight skill and enormous amounts of luck had once again rendered them successful. </p><p>"Damn she was kinda' hard, bro," Mugs discussed after he finished chewing his roasted drumstick. They were situated at their guest-of-honour table.</p><p>"Yeah, she was, but we beat her, so who cares?" Cuphead said with absolute nonchalance, more proof of which acted his hands behind his head and legs leaning on the table.</p><p>"Uh, if we don't step up our game, we might not get so lucky next time," his brother brought his poultry bone down on his insolent legs to remind him of basic manners, "I've been taking notes of all the different types of demons we've fought so far, their powers and, more importantly, their weaknesses..."</p><p>But Cuphead was simply yawning away at his brother's studies, to which he got the answer of a tinier bone chucked at his forehead.</p><p>"Hey! That could've poked my eye ou-..."</p><p>"For example, Fire demons hate water, shadows hate bright lights shined into their eyes, spectras each have their own unique weakness, which makes it harder for us," Mugman ignored him and was now reading from a tiny journal he had with him, "See, maybe next time we can bring supplies, like a water source or something for another fire demon."</p><p>He only received a grunt from Cuphead.</p><p>"What do you think got her so riled up anyway? She seemed nice for a demon," Mugs asked after he finished chewing another drumstick.</p><p>"Who knows? It's a fire demon, those guys get mad at everything thanks to their tempers. Could have been territory, someone staring at them for 0.0001 seconds, heck maybe she was pissed off she's single judging from the way things played out back there."</p><p>"Seriously Cup, you're in the wrong profession," Mugman could not miss the opportunity to banter, "Demon-hunter? Psshh," Mugman made a scowl of disappointment, "Demon-whisperer? Now that makes a whole lot more sense," he laughed contently.</p><p>"Knock it off. It only happened twice, jeez," Cuphead said in a irked manner.</p><p>"Two and a half," Mugman corrected, almost looking smug.</p><p>"What's the half?" he was almost scared to ask.</p><p>"I swear to God almighty that that drude we dealt with last month ended up having a thing for you," his brother excitedly spilled.</p><p>"Yeah, no... I think that fall of yours must have given your imagination a bit of a boost," Cuphead sounded tired. He had to admit his situations had definitely been eccentric.</p><p>"Joking aside, this could be a great new tactic, just like we did with this demon. Maybe you could actually start using your looks," Mugman hinted away with seriousness but still not having lost his playful enthusiasm. </p><p>Cuphead struggled for a second before he managed to speak.</p><p>"...I am not going to flirt with demons. I am NOT-..."</p><p>"You already did today." Now Mugman looked smug without holding back.</p><p>Cuphead once again had difficulty before he also managed to snark, yet not without anger:</p><p>"You're just jealous that none of the demons we've fought have hit on you!"</p><p>"Am not!...But she wasn't too bad of a sight to see, am I right?" Mugs quickly recovered.</p><p>"Sure...as good as she could look for a woman with more than needed amounts of teeth, sharp claws and black-holes for eyes."</p><p>"But that physique though."</p><p>"Tall girls ain't my type. Anywho, who's next on our to-hunt list?" Cuphead quickly changed the subject.</p><p>"We got a bunch of imps in...oh! The village next to ours. Great, we won't have to travel for hours or days again!" Mugman looked up with a grin from the list he had pulled out.</p><p>"That is great. How long will our bounty for this time last us anyway?"</p><p>"The townsfolk were pretty generous. We got 150 gold. Maybe a little too generous considering the fact that some of their town still got burned down...heh. But this should last us a month."</p><p>"Alright," he said cheerfully, bringing his hand down on his brother's shoulder as his amber eyes caught sight of a few dames looking the heroes' way suggestively, "Now, let's go talk to some <em>real<em> girls, eh?" </em></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"That she-devil seemed pretty real when she was about to bite your handsome face off, didn't she?" Mugman commented as his brother dragged him over to the women.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<h1>***</h1><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Gosh, I can't believe we're home," Mugman dropped his sluggish movements for a sprint.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>After a day of travelling they had finally made it back to Inkwell, both incredibly fatigued from their journey. These thrilling bounty hunts always brought them  to new places outside their Isle. Yet, their next trip would prove to be like nothing they've ever experienced before.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Hey, who's that?" Mugman, who had ran ahead, pointed at their front lawn. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Looking ahead, Cuphead saw a man in a suit standing in front of their gate. The man was a sheep of some sorts, with the light brown wool on his head shortened and combed back to form a fancy yet still relatively fluffy head of hair. On his face were a few large moles that were more like patches and his eyes were an odd shade of blueish-gray with the pupils rectangles, as it usually is for horned animals. His tailored and expensive-looking suit, which was dark gray tinted with blue, said he meant business.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Ah, good day gentleman," the man approached them with a professional smile.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Good day...? Who are you and why are you loitering around our lawn?" Cuphead eyed him carefully.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Ah. You may call me Mr. Bizet. I am from SCC. Supernatural Creature Control," he handed them a card as he went on, "We specialize in handling troublesome paranormal activity, such as ghosts, witches and warlocks  and <em>demons<em>," he placed a particular emphasis on 'demons', "But we only deal with beings that pose as a major hazard to society. We're the people that are called when bounty hunters such as yourselves can no longer control the situation."</em></em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"This is a job offer, isn't it? You want us to join your little organization," Cuphead guessed conceitedly.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Almost. Recently, we've been getting reports of a certain demon. This demon is of an unknown species and has so far proven impossible to capture. None of our forces have managed to even come close. So...we thought: why not bring in the ones who've defeated Satan himself? We believe you two might be the only ones capable of defeating this devil."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"What's in it for us?" Cuphead asked, his curiosity well over piqued.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Mr. Bizet chuckled as he replied:</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Well, to say that we'll pay you handsomely is a bit of an understatement, more like beautifully."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"We'd like a number."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"A million."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"A-a million?!" Cuphead's eyes grew the size of dinner plates.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Yes," was Bizet's satisfied answer.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"What exactly is it we have to do?" Mugman asked skeptically.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Find the demon and capture it. We need it <em>alive<em>. You must lead a team we've prepared for you to the demon's capture. A guide will take you to your destination as well as accompany you on the journey, as the place you are to travel to is incredibly far and definitely not like any of your other locations. Guidance will be necessary. That is if you agree, of course. You must also be wary of other demon hunters. Our little friend has attracted quite a bit of attention and he know has a bounty on his head. Get to him before any hunters. Oh, and yes, if you succeed you may choose to join our little organization," he ended it off with a smile, "So, what do you say? I understand if you need time to think-..."</em></em></em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"It's a yes," Cuphead said with great enthusiasm.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"Oh-...uh, ok. Then the guide shall arrive tomorrow at midday to get you started on your journey. Oh, sign here, please." He handed them a few papers.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em> Before Cuphead could hastily sign them Mugman took them from him and meticulously read them, only after which they were to sign.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"Well, then, welcome to the team. Tomorrow the guide will arrive at the port at midday, so be sure to meet him there. Good luck and please, be careful," Bizet said, before gathering the papers into a case he had with him and going on his way, leaving the boys to revel, each in their own excitement.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"We're getting a promotion! We're getting a promotion!" was the subject of Mugman's excitement.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"We're gonna' be RICH!" was, as always, Cuphead's.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>They hurriedly entered their home to celebrate, unaware of just how exhilirating their journey was to be and what unexpected fortunes and misfortunes untold they were to be led to.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Ow! Watch it," Cuphead shrieked as the barber raked a comb through his blonde locks.</p><p>"Apologies, Sir," the barber calmly replied without stopping his comb, to which all he continued to receive was a series of grunts from Cuphead.</p><p>"This was a terrible idea," the cup grumbled to his brother, who was sitting on the sofa nearby with a cluster of bags. Considering the fact that Mugman lacked hair, he had instead run off shopping for outfits and was now happily lounging in observation of his brother's torture, knowing well how much he hated sitting still.</p><p>"No, it wasn't Cup, a new job means a new you, which, in turn, means a new look and so far I think you look great," Mugman commented, fiddling with the clutches of the bags.</p><p>"Well, I think I just look dumb," he answered, insensitive to the barber's feelings.</p><p>"That's got nothing to do with your hairdo, bud," Mugman retorted with his usual sweetened sass.</p><p>"Real original, that's offensive to blondes by the way," Cuphead was gradually losing his patience in the barber's chair.</p><p>"Who said anything about blondes? It's you that's offensive to blondes. The damn stereotype was probably made after you." There they went again.</p><p>"At least my stereotype gets all the girls." Cuphead couldn't have helped but have thought that his brother was indeed upsetted by that fact.</p><p>"Oh yeah, with your <em>devilish<em> charms?" He brought out the puns. </em></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Cuphead decided to just ignore him completely, hoping to give him the hint that he was going a little too far, absolutely having nothing to do with the fact that he couldn't come up with anything to retort.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"And we're done," the barber ended the siblings' quarrel.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Cuphead stood up to get a better look at himself. He developed...mixed feelings. His wild and bouncy locks that used to cover his left eye completely had been shortened so that it only concealed half the eye, alongside it having been given a curl of sorts.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"I...uh...don't hate it...too much," Cuphead mumbled while scratching his head.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"Don't listen to him, I think he looks fabulous," Mugman encouraged the barber, in all frankness impressed.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"It's just...our 'new job' is kind of a tough guy's work and, right now, I look like a pretty boy," he revealed his bellyache.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>"If that's the case and if experience has taught us anything, that look will be <em>perfect<em> for our job," Mugman just couldn't let it go.</em></em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"You'd better not start talking like that in front of the others," the newly-styled Cuphead warned through a gritted smile as he payed the barber.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Come on, let's get going. It's almost midday," Mugman brushed it off, not losing his friendly mood.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p>
<h1>***</h1><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Arriving back at their abode they prepared to head down to the port. The sun had about reached its peak in the sky and was warming up their backs as they strolled on down. It was a short walk to their destination and the weather was perfect as they tred on through the greenery.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Reaching the port they kept their eyes out for someone who could possibly be their guide. Although it took a while, they spotted a tiny figure in the midst of the crowd that was holding a sign above his head as high as his small stature could allow with their names written on it.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>He was a stubby, little black dog of sorts with short, pointy ears, but what was perhaps most curious about him was his outfit. On his head he wore a white cloth fastened with a black rope, alongside white baggy clothes of some sorts. Cuphead could only comprehend from such that they looked like Arabian wear, at least he thought so.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Are you two Cuphead and Mugman?" He asked as they approached him.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Yup!" Mugman's answer clearly portrayed just how excited he was, "Are you our guide?"</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Indeed," his answer was short and direct, which preceded him immediately taking off towards the sizeable ship drifting beside the port, "Let's go."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>He then stopped once he set his eyes on the luggage Mugman was carrying behind him.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"We won't be needing that. You still have a little time before the ship departs, so hurry up and take it back," he barked an order.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Huh? But won't we be needing anything?" Mugman enquired in perplexity.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"The only thing you two can bring is your weapons. We can't risk taking up precious space. We'll need it for rations," he answered briskly.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"But our clothes are in here," Mugman continued to reason.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"I have appropriate clothes with me. Now, scoot." He seemed impatient, to say the least.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Mugman could only do as he was told and raced away with the luggage, leaving Cuphead alone with the crabby guide.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>For a while they both eyed each other, observing and coming to an opinion about one another, skepticism present in their glances. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"So, what'll we call ya'? Cuphead had had enough of the silent body language.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Bimbo." </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"So..." </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>But before Cuphead could question him any further, his brother came skidding to a halt, having reached back in record time, which led Bimbo to once again hurriedly flock them away onto the ship.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p>
<h1>***</h1><p>The summer sun had begun to give away, give away to a milder golden light and steady breeze that is. The boys were leaned over railings, enjoying the atmosphere with Mugman's excitement having been sedated by the relaxing wind and scenery. Their guide had told them to wait for some time as he prepared supplies and whatnot for when they were to depart off the ship and the journey was really to begin.<br/>
Soon enough though, before Cuphead had had time to finish off his cigarette, the small, snappish dog returned.</p><p>"Alright boys." His demeanor seemed to have improved. "Now that everything's sorted, I'm gonna' give you two a total rundown of how this all is gonna' go down and, of course, answer your questions as best I can," he looked between both of them before beginning, "Now, once again my name is Bimbo, which one of you is Cuphead and which one's Mugman?"</p><p>"I'm Mugman and he's Cuphead," Mugman said, poniting to himself first and afterwards his brother.</p><p>"Good to know, good to know..." the canine took a bit to gather his thoughts before continuing, "I suppose you two would want to know where exactly we're going."</p><p>The two nodded, Mugman far more rapidly than his brother.</p><p>"Well, we are to journey to my homeland of Muhabara - a desert. It's-..."</p><p>"Desert?!" Mugman jerked upwards in excitement.</p><p>"Uh, yes-..."</p><p>"We've never been to a desert before! Do you think we'll get to see a mirage?" He turned to his brother.</p><p>"Uh... I really hope not," Cuphead could only muster as his sibling was in his face.</p><p>"I reaaally wanna' see a mirage! Can you imagine wanting something so bad you start seeing illusiins of it? I wanna' see illusions!" He sounded like a little kid on Santa's lap.</p><p>"I mean... if you really want to hallucinate, there's drugs," Cuphead very calmly suggested, while taking a puff of his cigarette.</p><p>"<em>You<em> can go do that, I have class and..." he hesitated, trying to act superior, "exotic taste."</em></em></p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>"Huh, you're right. Mirages are kinda' like exotic drugs if ya' think about it." Cuphead was trying very much to not question the conversation, "Except they give ya' mental damage instead of physical...cuz...you get crushed and lose all hope once you...uh, realize it's just a mirage." He was trying very hard to stop talking but he really wanted to finish the sentence</p><p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>"...He's the reason why I can't have nice things," Mugman himself looked crushed at that moment as he stared at Bimbo blanly.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>"I don't think mirages are nice things," was Cuphead's answer.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>"No, they definitely aren't," Bimbo calmly warned, yet he looked like he was already regretting his decision, "Anyways, as someone who knows the place as well as how to traverse the desert pretty well, I took on the assignment of guiding you two-..."</p><p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Have you actually seen the demon?" Cuphead butt in with the part that most interested him, leaving Bimbo to answer with a quiet grumble.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"No, I have not. I'm guessing the people from your crew might know a thing or two, but all I do is my best to not get you lost. But, the idea of a demon running amuck isn't exactly comforting, so I decided to volunteer and do my best to help deal with it. Now, the ship ride'll take a few hours after which we'll need to go by horse for half a day, then we'll have reached the desert-..."</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Wait, only then we'll have reached the desert?" Cuphead interrupted yet again.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Yes." The canine was blamelessly, yet somehow covertly irritated. "Now-...</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Where are we going to get the money for all that travelling?" This time it was Mugman, but at least his question was a decent one.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>Bimbo took a subtle deep breath and forced calmness upon himself before answering.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"I have some money with me as of current to get us started and every month we shall get more from the organization, understood?"</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>They both nodded, while Cuphead couldn't help but be perturbed by the fact that this mission may take months. </p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"Now, any questions?" The guide seemed to have calmed down completely at this point. It was amazing really.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"Could you tell us a bit about the place we're going to be going to?" Mugman was still enthusiastic.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"Alright then, let's see." Bimbo smiled a little at the notion of getting to describe his home. "The desert itself is called the Muhabara as I said with quite a few large cities sprinkled in it. It in itself is a rather immense desert too. I can lead you through the majority of the cities as well as through the desert itself. I warn ya' though, the heat is intense, unbearable even, but you'll get used to it. Even the nights are hot. The cities are loud, bustling and colorful, every street has its own unique spice in the air and-...Oh! And dancers, you'll never find a street lacking dancers," his eyes had earned some sort of glimmer, making it clear he loved and found absolute beauty in the place, "We gotta be careful though. Beautiful as it is, it's also very dangerous. Thieves are littered at every stop and things could get messy at any second."</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"Oh, don't you worry bout' that, we gotcha' covered," Cuphead assured with one hand making a gun and the other holding it like he would one.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Yes, I suppose you two are well-equipped," Bimbo said, "Still, try not to cause trouble. Now, how about you two?"</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"Huh?" Mugman uttered in bewilderment.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Do tell me the story of how you two defeated the Devil himself." He looked rather enraptured at the thought of the story.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"Oh well, we did that when we were kids," Mugman took it upon himself to storytell, "Cup was 12, I was 11 and-..."</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"And how old are you now?" This time Bimbo was the interrupter.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"Oh, he's 19 and I'm 18," Mugman smiled, unbothered by the interruption.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>"So young.. " the dog mumbled.</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>"So, it all started when my idiot of a brother decided: 'let me just sell our souls to the devil because why not? and..."</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p>
<p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><h1>***</h1><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>The sun was on its way to setting, leaving behind a picturesque view for the riders. The team had bought a series of horses to continue on with the prologue of the journey, with Bimbo mounting a tawny colt, Mugman - a silvery one, and Cuphead riding on a blackish-brown mare.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>To keep them entertained on the long ride, Bimbo told them of his aforesaid adventures, to each Mugman responded with a tale of demon-hunting. The guide's  chronicles weren't anything particularly special, especially not when compared to the boys' many crusades, but they were still enough to keep from drifting off and falling from the steeds.</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>Yet, only the younger of the brothers was listening and participating. Cuphead had fallen into his own thoughts and premonitions of some sort. Something interesting about the dish-headed boy was that he had a rather strong gut instinct and for some reason that instinct was flaring up at that moment. Yet, he couldn't quite place what it meant. Whether it was a sense of foreboding or a strange hunch, he could not guess. He believed it to have aroused from the idea of spending months out in the desert looking for some demon. <em>Months?<em> <em>Why so long?<em> What exactly were they up against that would take them so long? He didn't feel worried or anxious in regard, he felt...prepared. Prepared for something big. Some big change. Yes, that was it. He felt that some big change was going to happen. Unfortunately, he had yet to figure out whether that was good or bad.</em></em></em></em></p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Hey, Cup, you alright? You've been quiet for an hour."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Cuphead left his thoughts to look up at his brother.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Yeah, just thinking about what's to come," he replied honestly, "So, what are we talking about again?"</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p>
<p>
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    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><h1>***</h1><p>
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    <em></em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Many hours had passed into the night when they reached the end of the beginning. The sky was beyond gorgeous, but their eyes were riveted to the infinite horizon. They stared out onto the start of the desert. Frankly, the brothers were intimidated. It seemed like they were staring out into space: there just wasn't any end to it. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em>
      <em>
        <em>They were standing at the edge of a barren road, still scattered with yellowing weeds here and there. Before them began dunes upon dunes.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Well boys, ready?" the guide asked, unphased by the eerie outlook.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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    <em>
      <em>
        <em>They both took time to glance into each others' eyes, each finding the same emotions of anxiousness and excitement (a little more in Mugman's) in them, before Cuphead turned to Bimbo and announced:</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>
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      <em>
        <em>"Ready."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
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</p><p>
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</p><p>
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    <em>
      <em>
        <em>As they stepped onto the cold sand, Cuphead realized that whatever change was to take place was to start from now.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
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</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Welp, the story will finally start to kick off from now. A slow start but things will get exciting soon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cuphead had long grown tired. The first hour of traversing through dimmed dunes had been filled to the brim in wonder, with mystery surrounding every grain of sand their horses stepped on. The clear night sky littered with stars had only added to that. The wind had blown in eerieness into their faces, reminding them that they were about to go on some grand adventure to unknown lands.</p>
<p>They had switched out their horses for camels at a station Bimbo knew the location of, and after that it really seemed like one hell of a quest. But, if the tearing through the wind of the horses had brought on the exhilaration of a future of facing an unknown foe, the slow bobbing of the camels late in the night brought nothing but sleep to Cuphead's mind after a few hours in the desert. The sight of the starry night only helped rock him to sleep more.</p>
<p>"Are we-..." he started.</p>
<p>"If you're asking whether or not we're there yet, I can assure you that you'll be asking that chronically for quite a while," Bimbo answered in a slight snap.</p>
<p>"Come on, Cuppy," Mugman, who had barely lost any energy, said to his weary brother, "Isn't this exciting? We're in the desert and on a mission! We've never been to a place like this before!"</p>
<p>"Excited? I am. Tired? Even more so. Besides, we had kinda' been to a desert during that one time when we fought Djimmi," Cuphead groaned.</p>
<p>"That was an illusion, this is the real thing! I feel like I'm in One thousand and one nights or something!" Mugman was still gushing.</p>
<p>"I feel like this journey's gonna take one thousand and one nights," Cuphead whined half under his breath, "How much longer do we have left anyway?" Cuphead turned to Bimbo, who was leading them.</p>
<p>"6 hours."</p>
<p>"6 hours?!," Cuphead groaned.</p>
<p>"What are we gonna' do after the six hours?" asked Mugman, all jittery.</p>
<p>"Sleep!" His brother found the energy to yell.</p>
<p>"Go mirage-hunting," Bimbo barely uttered.</p>
<p>"You can hunt for mirages? I know you were just joking but I'm asking seriously," Mugman asked with the most severe face.</p>
<p>"I'm sure <em>you'd<em> manage to find a way," Bimbo's answer was quiet, "Relieve yourself of water and/or food for a week and the mirages'll hunt you themselves."</em></em></p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"Friendly reminder: we're here to demon hunt Mugs," Cuphead continued to call out despite his depleting energy.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>After a scoff at his brother, Mugman asked another question:</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"I meant after we've rested up and all that, what are we going to do?" </em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"Ah-..." Bimbo began only to be interrupted.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"Where exactly are we going?" Cuphead was this time's interrupter again.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"Yes, I was just on the verge of telling you that," Bimbo very calmly answered, "In the direction we're going, which is west, in about six hours we shall reach an inn called Jasminum," he spoke while looking at a compass which he had often glanced at throughout the small time they had journeyed, "Your crew is also staying there in wait for you and the next night, you all will be introduced. But, if you two are really, very tired we can take a break and nap for an hour or so."</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"Can we?" Cuphead moaned.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"Must we?" Bimbo enquired nonchalantly. </em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"We musn't," Mugman objected, like a toddler before bedtime, "Come on, Cuppy, it's just tiredness. What's a bit of fatigue? You can make it, I believe in you."</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"That's nice, Mugsy. I don't. I wanna' nap," Cuphead said with eyes already half-closed.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>"We're continuing for now," the guide decided, arousing another tired groan from the more sluggish of the brothers.</em>
  </em>
</p><h1>***</h1>
<p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>It only took an hour for, much to the happiness of Cuphead, Mugman himself to grow tired and ask for a rest, losing his seemingly endless adventurer's zeal. </p>
<p>"Alright, fine. We may rest, but only for an hour," Bimbo told them as he descended from his camel, having some trouble due to his height.</p>
<p>Cuphead practically fell off the steed, due to his fatigue and excitement about ending the fatigue. </p>
<p>"But this isn't good you two," Bimbo said as Mugman calmly got off his camel, giving it a little pet, "The whole crusade'll most likely require a lot of travel for prolonged amounts of time. If you guys can't take half a day, it'll be quite problematic." </p>
<p>"Don't worry, Mr. Bimbo. I'm sure we're just not used to it yet. We'll get the hang of it in time," Mugman said while retrieving a blanket from his load, his camel already laying down and ready for bed.</p>
<p>"You two do seem like very resilient boys, so I will believe you," the guide said, copying Mugman, Cuphead having long gotten comfortable.</p>
<p>"Ok, Good night! Don't let the scorpions bite!" Cupid rapidly said over his camel, before pulling the blanket over himself more. </p>
<p>"S-scorpions?" Cuphead heard Mugman ask in an anxious whisper.</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it. Good night Mugman," the quiet voice belonged to Bimbo.</p>
<p>"Good night, Mr. Bimbo." </p>
<p>As Mugman uttered his good night, Cuphead's tired eyes wandered to the crystal clear night sky. The bright lights gave him one last reminder of mystery before his tired eyelids dropped onto his eyes.</p><h1>***</h1>
<p>Resting was a mistake. Only one hour of sleep made Cuphead feel even more exhausted than if he had none. His sibling had to drag him and hoist him onto his camel. </p>
<p>Cuphead's eyes stung as, soon enough, an annoying orange blanketed the sky. Even his brother was so tired that he didn't comment on 'the beauty of the desert sky', but unfortunately Bimbo did.</p>
<p>"Ah," he sighed serenely, "the Arabian sunset is most beautiful, isn't it?" </p>
<p>No answer.</p>
<p>"Isn't it?" He repeated more sharply.</p>
<p>Mugman raised his tired head to look. "It burns. Ow, my eyes...," he whined without emotion and sluggishly.</p>
<p>"Yeah, Sorry, can't tell with blood-shot peepers," Cuphead himself satired with nonchalance.</p>
<p>"Oh boo-hoo, I'm stuck on a quest with two whiney adolescents for God knows how long," Bimbo said without losing composure but without lacking derision, "See? I can complain too. It's nothing special."</p>
<p>"We're kids, we're allowed to whine," Mugman whined.</p>
<p>"First of all, you two are not kids. Secondly, I did not know I signed up for babysitting.</p>
<p>"How could you not know? You're job is literally to make sure we don't get lost - like a babysitter," Cuphead gave a tired little sass.</p>
<p>Bimbo remained silent.</p>
<p>"You'll live. We're not too far off," he answered after a while with calm annoyance, "Although I most likely won't."</p>
<p>Sure enough, if the two brothers squinted their bloodshot eyes, they could find a dark orange building, seemingly of sandstone sitting on the horizon.</p>
<p>Once having neared it enough, they didn't hesitate to jump off their means of transport in a burst of energy as Bimbo opened his mouth to call after them.</p>
<p>Naturally, they had to wait until Bimbo had taken the camels to the stables before they could get a room. </p>
<p>"Come on," Cuphead whined, impatiently urging on their babysitter as he was getting the keys to their rooms while they were taking up the seating nearby, "these are precious seconds you're taking up here."</p>
<p>"Just because I don't show it, does not mean I'm not just as tired. Be patient," he said as he got the keys and signaled for them to follow him. </p>
<p>They excitedly followed him up a series of stairs, heads hanging low and watching their steps while Bimbo held his high. </p>
<p>Once they reached their rooms, they stood waiting as Bimbo fiddled with the keys.</p>
<p>After a while, a fight broke out between the three of them, as Cuphead had grown impatient and took on the job of unlocking, failed, after which Mugman tried to butt in and Bimbo proceeded to try and take it back. The three of them together managed to unlock the thing. Of course, that was only one room's door, they had to wrestle with the other room's one. </p>
<p>Once inside, the boys didn't hesitate to plant face-first into their beds. After a while of enjoying the darkness after the scorching light of 'Bimbo's beautiful Arabian sunrise' Cuphead turned his head to look at his brother laying beside him, face creating creases in the sheets as it lay there flat. After hearing a tiny snore he grasped his sibling was long gone and proceeded to join him.</p><h1>***</h1>
<p>"Cuphead..." the cup heard a muffled voice, "Cuphead."</p>
<p>"Hm?" He mumbled back to his brother, who was still face-first in his blankets.</p>
<p>"You awake?" He made out.</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Yeah, me neither."</p>
<p>"..."</p>
<p>"We really should be though... Mr. Bimbo said we should be up by now."

</p>
<p>"Trust me, Mr. Bimbo'll come get us himself when he's ready. Enjoy it while it lasts."</p>
<p>"Yeah."</p>
<p>But Mr. Bimbo decided he was ready to come get them as he calmly burst into their room.</p><h1>***</h1>
<p>The next night had befallen the inn when the three exited the room and descended the stairs.</p>
<p>"The inn has a tavern next door, which is where your crewmates shall be awaiting us," Bimbo explained right as Mugman had opened his mouth to ask.</p>
<p>In all honesty, Cuphead was not too thrilled about demon-hunting with other people. The thought of having to get along with other people just sounded so <em>tiring<em>. He needed to learn to trust them, to work with them etc. etc... It was just so much work. Cuphead was the kind of person to avoid asking for directions from people no matter how lost he was.</em></em></p>
<p>
  <em>
    <em>As they exited the inn and made their way towards the tavern beside it, the cool air did provide a bit of head-clearing for Cuphead before they entered.</em>
  </em>
</p>
<p>There was only one table seated and it held quite the number of people. Cuphead observed each, one by one, starting from the left. It went: a black cat in a classic explorer's outfit and hat: he had friendly yet twitchy eyes and looked to be in his late twenties if not almost thirty; a dark blonde human with eyes just barely lacking enough blue to be called grey, who looked slightly older than the feline next to him - perhaps in his early thirties - with a small, charming smile plastered onto his face, and his clothes - a black cassock; a... A DEMON? Cuphead had no idea what he was looking at but it sure as hell did not look pretty: it had strange dark grey, wrinkly skin, full yellow eyes in a very slight green tint and slited pupils, and some sort of animal ears on its head, frankly, it looked anorexic and Cuphead felt a bit bad about being repelled by a person that is suffering as such, the clothing was unsettling as well: a black trenchcoat with a dark gray shirt underneath and a black tie and porkpie hat through which the strange ears came from, except they all had strange details: the ribbon of the hat and the belt had an adornment of silver pentagrams while the buttons of the coat themselves were pentagrams, he also had a mean countenance; a rodent of sorts covered from head to claws in dark red fabric: a niqab, with only the eyes and a fluffy tail set free; and lastly, a woman with black, braided hair framing a pale, enlongated face in a black dress with a thick belt and gold buckle, black stockings and black boots with matching buckles. 

Cuphead found them all suspicious immediately. As the three joined the table, the seated riveted their eyes to follow their movements, each with their own expressions and evaluation.</p>
<p>Silence unfolded as everyone waited for someone else to speak. At first, Cuphead himself was surprised at the lack of introductions before remembering that him and his brother were assigned to lead and therefore were probably to lead the meeting too. </p>
<p>He was about to signal to his sibling to be the one to start, but realized he'd rather use a tough guy act on these strangers then let his brother give them cheek-to-cheek grins or nervous smiles. Plus, it'd be embarrassing for him as the elder one to let his baby brother start the leading.</p>
<p>Standing up, he made sure to eye each one in turns before beginning:</p>
<p>"Hi..." Hearing the harshness in his voice he felt satisfied. Now to keep it up. "I...am Cuphead and... Me and my brother Mugman have been assigned to lead you on this mission. In turns, state your names and your role on the team."</p>
<p>He sat back down, proud of himself. Silence reigned once more for a little while before the first brave soul, the black cat, stepped up. He looked around for a while in nervousness after which he began in a friendly tone:</p>
<p>"Um...Hi...I am Felix, Felix the cat. I'm an explorer, have been for awhile now... over a decade, actually." His tail twitching behind him could easily be noticed. "Anyways, I was called onto this mission thanks to me being very much experienced in traversing unknown terrains and I am to guide you through any dangerous situation, which I believe I'll be able to do as I have encountered quite a few mystic creatures and supernaturals in my adventures."</p>
<p> For a while he looked confused as to whether or not he had given enough information. Having found it sufficient, he took his seat.</p>
<p>It took some time before the next brave soul came forth. </p>
<p>"Hello all, I am St. Samuel Lawrence, a priest and exorcist." It was the blonde man in the religious attire. "My job here is to make sure none of us get possessed, so, if any of you guys start feeling like our little demon friend has decided to use you as his temporary home, do tell, alright?" </p>
<p>He seemed rather good-humored, smiling pleasantly. Cuphead thought him to be a positive soul, yet not overbearingly so.</p>
<p>The priest took his seat and, as things became more paced and people were more voluntary, the odd-looking gray-skinned person stood up.</p>
<p>"I am Ra," he spoke in a low, quiet yet somehow conceited and shady voice, "a demonologist, I know anything and everything about demonic beasts that one can know."</p>
<p>"They must have mistaken you for one of their own and given you the information, yes?," the tiny female rodent satired unwarrantedly.</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" Ra unsurprisingly looked offended, "little rodent, I-..."</p>
<p>"Rodent?! I'm a chinchilla, you sharmoota!" she snapped back through her clothing, only her fiery black eyes visible, although Cuphead was pretty certain a chinchilla was still a rodent, "You look more like a rat than me."</p>
<p>"I'll have you know I am a Sphynx feline, you-..." </p>
<p> "Yes, yes, good for you. Sit down." The snappish chinchilla climbed onto the table to support her height. "I am called Raqiq Euyun-Kabira, I am a native of Muhabara and will act as translator if need be. One more thing: I do not take anyone's khara. I am sitting down now." </p>
<p>As promised, the rude little thing returned to her seat, where her height obscured her from view. She did have a very slight accent but yet spoke English rather fluently.</p>
<p>"I do wonder what makes you think everyone else has to take your khara," Bimbo calmly said.</p>
<p>"Eh? Picking on the smaller ones. Tsk. Tsk. You're a bad dog," the chinchilla threw blame.</p>
<p>"First of all, that's insulting and speciest, but I'm just going to ignore that and go on," he retorted before standing up, "My name is Bimbo and I shall act as the guide for the journey. I know Muhabara like the-..."</p>
<p>"Eh? Guide? You're useless. I can already guide everyone throughout Muhabara," the rodent opened its mouth through its abaya once more.</p>
<p>"Oh my god! Guys, can we please get along? We just met and we're already-..." Mugman tried to intervene, but the chinchilla would not allow him to:</p>
<p>"Who the allaena are you?!"</p>
<p>"I-I'm Mugman."</p>
<p>"Wait you're turn, boy!"</p>
<p>"Ok, stop!" Cuphead stood up, "Bimbo? You were saying?"</p>
<p>For a second, it looked like Cuphead had actually succeeded in being a leader, but before he could pat himself on the back he stood corrected.</p>
<p>"Ey! You look like a kid or something! Who put you in charge?" It was Raqiq obviously.</p>
<p>"Hey, yeah... They look like the youngest members, why are they in charge anyway?" the furless cat joined in.</p>
<p>"Because they defeated the Devil," the woman with the braided hair informed. </p>
<p>"Yes, I heard about that too," Felix backed up. "Besides, these boys have successfully hunted a large number of demons in their small number of years." He then turned to the two brothers and said with an encoraging grin: "You two must tell me of your adventures once we're on our way."</p>
<p>"Only if we swap stories. You all seem like you've had some of your own. I'd love to hear some on the way," Mugman answered with absolute amiability. Cuphead could tell that he was subtley trying to insert friendliness into the meeting.</p>
<p>"I doubt any one of you care, but I was saying that I know every corner of Muhabara including the desert and can also translate if need be," said a very salted Bimbo, "I am absolutely not saying that there was no need for Raqiq here, even though I absolutely could do her job in her place.</p>
<p>Before there was even a chance to react and react negatively, the braided woman stood up.</p>
<p>"Alisson Connor. I'm an agent from SCC. I have all the information we've gathered on our subject, so listen up."</p>
<p>From that point on it became clear that things got serious as everyone straightened up.</p>
<p>"Our info isn't all that much, but it's what we have to work with," she began, "Ok, so, according to what we found out, our subject is...of an undiscovered species."</p>
<p>"Really now?" the furless cat's eyes lit up, "How interesting, exciting and...difficult. Oh well, I'll try my best to apply my knowledge. Tell me about the demon."</p>
<p>She answered with a small nod, before continuing:</p>
<p>"This isn't our ordinary run-of-the-mill spawn of hell. This is one crazy powerful demon. We've sent countless troops after it and haven't even come close. We don't even know what it looks like."</p>
<p>"Wait, what?" Cuphead shot up.</p>
<p>"What?" Ra did the same.</p>
<p>"Well, then how the hell are we supposed to find it and recognize it?" Cuphead shot his arms forward in frustration.</p>
<p>"We'll know," she simply answered, "We also think it shape-shifts, hence our inability to not recognize it."</p>
<p>"Ah! Is it a shadow demon?" the demonologist suggested.</p>
<p>"That was our first conclusion as well, but it soon became obvious that wasn't the case. It doesn't exactly shapeshift into anything. It simply has multiple demonic forms. God knows what it looks like now."</p>
<p>"Hm, what are its powers? Anything on that?" The demonologist questioned.</p>
<p>"Not much. As I said it's unknown. It definitely has some abilities, but we can't exactly identify them...except of course the common demonic traits: exceeded strength, speed...etc." She pondered for a moment before adding on. "Well...there is something, but I'm not sure exactly how to describe it... See, like shadow demons it can turn itself into darkness to escape and summon shadows when need be, but...in this guy's case...it doesn't seem to be shadows...it's something else, kinda more...liquid? We've tried and failed to get samples. Any ideas?"</p>
<p>He shook his head.</p>
<p>"Just as I thought..." she once again went into thought.</p>
<p>"Slime, maybe?" Felix suggested.</p>
<p>"We don't know. No clue."</p>
<p>"Slime?! My niqab's gonna get ruined! A-al'ama!" The rodent complained loudly. </p>
<p>"What exactly has it done to attract so much attention?" Mugman asked.</p>
<p>"Well... We've gotten reports of serious trouble caused in a number of towns. People getting hurt and such," Allison answered.</p>
<p>"What's its name?" Cuphead asked.</p>
<p>"Uh, name?" Allison looked at him in perplexity.</p>
<p>"Do you mean scientific name? Were you not listening when we said its an undiscovered species? We do not know yet," the sphynx narrowed its eyes at Cuphead and pretty much admonished him .</p>
<p>"No. I mean its actual name, like... Lucinda or something, I dunno', " he narrowed his own back.</p>
<p>"Ey! Demons have names?" The rodent asked looking around at the crew.</p>
<p>"Well, the ones we fought did," Cuphead reasoned, his voice growing gruff with stubborness.</p>
<p>"Well, even if it did have a name, they wouldn't know, Cup. They haven't even caught a proper glimpse of it," Mugman calmly told his brother.</p>
<p>"Hm," he simply said, acknowledging he hadn't really thought that question through, before asking his next question, "How 'bout this: is it like...sentient? Is it a ravaging monster or can it communicate and stuff?"</p>
<p>"Not a bad question actually," Ra approved, yet with his eyes remaining narrowed.</p>
<p>"We haven't heard it talk, but... considering just how smart it seems to be, it must be sentient."</p>
<p>"May I ask a question? How exactly are we supposed to track it?" Felix was the one who enquired.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah. Our team just barely managed to get a magic tracker on it. We gotta act fast or else it might realize and get rid of it," she answered.</p>
<p>"I guess that makes things a whole lot easier," Cuphead commented quietly, "So, where's our first destination?"</p>
<p>"Well, it seems it lodging somewhere because it hasn't moved for a day. That somewhere is this rather large pit-stop sort of area. I'll check it again when I get back to my room," Allison informed.</p>
<p>"Well then, looks like things are settled." Cuphead rose from his seat somewhat impatiently. </p>
<p>"Indeed. I suggest we all meet back here at 9:00 to set off," Bimbo said also standing up.</p>
<p>Soon enough everyone was getting up out of their seats with murmurs of agreements and signs of farewell. </p>
<p>The small trek back was rather awkward as they were all heading to the same place in silence. Allison and Ra would mutter quietly to each other in the back but, aside from that, noone else bothered to speak.</p>
<p>Cuphead was relieved to finally have seperated from the group with his brother once they weren't too far from their room. Entering their room, he was given time to evaluate his experience.</p>
<p>He found the group to be the most untrustworthy and suspicious bunch he had ever seen and somethimg told him that each member of the crew thought exactly the same.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So...I kinda' got the virus, hence this taking so damn long. I'm ok now though. Hope you enjoy!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Greetings reader! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. As of current I'm updating once every two or three days so if you liked what you saw, stay tuned!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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